Tampa 2002
Tampa 2002 was the fifth event of the 2002 Monster Jam Season held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This would be the first televised appearance of Carl Van Horn and the first win from a truck this season not named Grave Digger or Team Meents. Field of Trucks Reptoid- Jim Jack Sudden Impact- John Seasock Spider-Man- Carl Van Horn Ragin Steel- Steve Reynolds High Roller- Neil Elliott Bulldozer- Guy Wood Gunslinger- Scott Hartsock Blue Thunder- Lyle Hancock Team Meents- Tom Meents Grave Digger 20th Anniversary- Dennis Anderson Round 1 Racing High Roller vs. Gunslinger Two powerful Fords going head to head, the more experienced Hartsock getting the straight up win. Winner- Gunslinger Bulldozer vs. Spider Man A dead even heat between the two, almost a tie photo finish race in the opening round but the win went to Bulldozer. Winner- Bulldozer Blue Thunder vs. Sudden Impact Another race of Fords, this one was won on power for Blue Thunder. Winner- Blue Thunder Reptoid vs. 20th Anniversary Grave Digger Now for a Chevy v. Chevy match this one went to the more experienced and powerful Grave Digger. Winner- 20th Anniversary Grave Digger Ragin Steel vs. Team Meents Like the last race, the favorite Tom Meents easily overtook Ragin Steel for the win. Winner- Team Meents Round 2 Racing Spider Man vs. Gunslinger A shocking upset as the rookie took a surprising margin of victory over the homestate veteran. Winner- Spider Man Bulldozer vs. Blue Thunder Blue Thunder was doomed from the start, pulling a wheelie off the line then hitting a turning pole but even then Bulldozer still had the advantage. Winner- Bulldozer 20th Anniversary Grave Digger vs. Team Meents A finals staple in the second round, both 1-1 against each other this season. Anderson overdid the turn and then took a bad bounce over the cars flipping the truck over. Winner- Team Meents Semi Finals Racing Spider Man vs. Bulldozer Another surprising win, Spider Man took the win over the bull and as a rookie Van Horn will make his first finals appearance. Winner- Spider Man Team Meents vs. Gunslinger Tom would continue to dominate and easily pass over Hartsock for another finals appearance. Winner- Team Meents Finals Racing Spider Man vs. Team Meents Tom was in the lead through the straight away but a bicycle on two wheels would mean that Spider Man and Carl Van Horn would score a huge win and the first win for a truck not named Digger or Team Meents this season. Winner- Spider Man Freestyle Reptoid Jim Jack would open freestyles with sky wheelies shooting smoke through the teeth and attacking the plane in the middle of the dirt jump to fill his run. Score- 6+5+6= 17 Ragin Steel Reynolds would follow suit like Reptoid attacking the cars and plane, then trying to conquer the bus, backing up and going over it again to be the first one to conquer it. Score- 8+7+7= 22 Sudden Impact Seasock looking to go big came out strong launching the truck over the cars and then sky wheelie over the bus getting high. A couple more sky wheelies and a hit on the plane and two more bus hits to finish his best run of the season yet. Score- 10+7+8= 25 Bulldozer After an impressive run in St. Louis, Guy Wood was looking for another big freestyle. Wood kicked it off with with a massive leap over the dirt hill and a bus hit, followed by a pogo wheelie over the cars and a bad bounce over the bus would end the run early. (In the next episode in Indianapolis it's shown that Guy bit a chunk out of his tongue on the landing, presumably why he ended the run there). Score- 8+6+8= 22 High Roller Neil Elliott continues an impressive rookie season with massive air over the cars and a couple huge bus hits but nothing stand out spectacular like Sudden Impact or Bulldozer. Score- 8+8+7= 23 Spider Man Racing winner looking to get another big win Van Horn came out with a couple hits on the cars before getting the first set of donuts and full fledged cyclones on the track however the engine stalled as he went over the bus. Score- 8+7+8= 23 Gunslinger Hartsock went big for his home state with massive jumps over the dirt hill and several hits over the bus carrying momentum throughout the run. Score- 8+9+8= 25 Blue Thunder Lyle Hancock took a different approach from the rest to start his run by pulling a massive power wheelie and carrying a wheelie over the bus and even reversed over the bus. Hancock continued the run with cyclone donuts and even a run through the mud pit to finish a phenomenal freestyle. Score- 10+9+10= 29 20th Anniversary Grave Digger Undefeated in freestyle in 2002 Anderson looked to get a fourth straight win with a damaged Digger. Anderson lept over the bus to kick off the run before sky wheelie over the cars losing the hood then launching the truck high over the dirt hill and cutting cyclone donuts. Another launch over the two big jumps before he hit the cars sideways, stuffed the tire and rolled the truck over again. Score- 10+10+10= 30 Team Meents Tom once again in a predicament trying to top Dennis. Tom launched the truck big but had a bad slap on the side of the truck and blew a tire. He cut some donuts before tipping the truck over, securing another win for Grave Digger. Score- 9+9+9= 27 Damage Report Spider Man- Engine issues 20th Anniversary Grave Digger- Body panels (all across) and blown tire Team Meents- Body panels (hood and side) and blown tire Category:Events Category:2002 events